Amie here. It’s August and National Black Business Month, a great reminder to spend some money supporting Black entrepreneurs in your community. (If you’re in Waterloo, I’ll shamelessly plug my favorite burger joint, Big Head Burger!)

• Also check out the inaugural Iowa African Film Festival in Des Moines this weekend.

• Don’t forget it’s sales tax-free weekend!

• It’s also World Breastfeeding Week.

• They STILL can’t find a sap willing to be the director of this thing nobody wants to attend.

In this issue: Events and protests, this week’s viral shootout between a former president and a Senate candidate, and reader soundoff.

Featured protests and events:

Josh Turek just got an assist from former President Barack Obama.

The Paralympian and Iowa Democratic candidate is running against GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson to flip a Republican-held Senate seat this fall.

Join the discussion on ⬇️ Facebook or ⬆️ Instagram….

…or on:

Readers are invited to add to the conversation by emailing responses@iowastartingline.com. Please include your first name and last initial. You may also want to include your city, but that’s up to you. I may edit your content for conciseness or to correct typos.

“Question: Do you think Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb, and if so, should they be allowed to have it?” — David V.

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